Building Language for
LiteracyPre-Kindergarten Study
Los Angeles Unified School District 2001–2002
Research&Results
Scholastic
2
An Evaluation of Pre-K Reading
Programs
INDEPENDENT STUDY
FINDS SCHOLASTIC’S
BUILDING LANGUAGE FOR LITERACY (BLL)
PROGRAM SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASES
VOCABULARY ACQUISITION AND
LETTER AND WORD IDENTIFICATION SKILLS
FOR BOTH ENGLISH-AND
SPANISH-SPEAKING CHILDREN.
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THE RESEARCH
PRESCHOOL NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE:
Until recently, early childhood policies have not included clear educational
standards and recommendations regarding preschool curriculum. However, the
No Child Left Behind federal legislation, and new policies that define appropriate
learning outcomes for children in preschool settings are now preparing educators
and families for important changes in what is taught to young children. Most
importantly, these curriculum changes may profoundly impact the achievement
outcomes for children who have been left behind academically.
There are several sociopolitical issues in early childhood education that
policy makers and education experts are now beginning to address and resolve.
Historically, there has been a general lack of clarity and agreement regarding the
developmental goals or learning outcomes for early childhood education (Carta,
Schwartz, Atwater, & McConnell, 1991). Empirical support and general
acceptance of the key developmental outcomes that prepare young children to
meet the academic and behavioral standards of early elementary school are now
being recognized as essential. Similarly, there has been associated ambiguity
about curriculum in early childhood education, and thus ambiguity about the
standards against which preschool children should be evaluated (Carta, Schwartz,
Atwater, & McConnell, 1991).
EARLY READING FIRST LEGISLATION:
The Early Reading First legislation is one of the first federal initiatives to
emphasize the critical importance of literacy skills in early childhood
education. Furthermore, Early Reading First shares the position taken in the
No Child Left Behind/ Reading First legislation that scientific reading research
should provide the basis for informed decisions about teaching early literacy
skills to young children.
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The overall purposeof the Early ReadingFirst program is toprepare preschoolchildren to enterkindergarten withthe language,cognitive, and earlyreading skills necessary for reading success. . .
THE RESEARCH continued
The overall purpose of the Early Reading First program is to prepare
preschool children to enter kindergarten with the language, cognitive,
and early reading skills necessary for reading success, thereby preventing
later reading difficulties. The specific purposes of the Early Reading First
program are as follows (U.S. Department of Education, 2002):
• To support local and state efforts to enhance the early language,
literacy, and early reading development of preschool age children,
particularly those from low-income families, through strategies and
professional development that are based on scientifically based
reading research.
• To provide preschool-age children with learning opportunities in
high-quality language and literature-rich environments, so they
will attain the fundamental knowledge and skills necessary for
optimal reading development in kindergarten and beyond.
• To demonstrate language and literacy activities based on reading
research that supports the age-appropriate development of:
Oral language (vocabulary development, expressive
language, and listening comprehension)
Phonological awareness (rhyming, blending, and
segmenting)
Print awareness
Alphabet knowledge (letter recognition)
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THE STUDY
EARLY LITERACY INDIVIDUAL GROWTH AND
DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS:
Recently, researchers at the Early Childhood Research Institute on Measuring
Growth and Development have been evaluating best practices in measuring
the growth and development of preschool children. A small set of Preschool
Individual Growth and Development Indicators (IGDIs) specifically designed
to assess preschool children’s progress in early literacy development have been
agreed upon. Although it is expected that a broader set of measures will emerge in
the coming years, for now, three learning outcomes have been developed and eval-
uated that assess phonemic awareness. They include alliteration and
rhyming, both adapted from the pivotal research by Lonigan and colleagues
(Lonigan, Burgess, Anthony, & Barker, 1998), as well as phoneme blending.
It is with knowledge and appreciation of the current educational climate
described above, that the following research was designed and implemented to
evaluate two preschool early literacy programs. For the purposes of this executive
summary, the research conducted by the Program Evaluation and Research Branch
of the Los Angeles Unified School District has been summarized to highlight
the quantitative results. Results with an effect size equal to or greater than .2
are presented in this summary. The full 52-page research report can be found at
http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/lausd/offices/perb/reports.html
STUDY BACKGROUND:
In keeping with the national and statewide move toward direct instruction in
early reading skills for young children, the Early Childhood Education Division
(ECED) of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) conducted a
2001–2002 pilot implementation of two pre-reading programs: Building
Language for Literacy (BLL) and the Letter People (LP). Key Researchers
included: Dr. Katherine Hayes, Dr. Ebrahim Maddahian, and Ms. Alicia
Fernandez of LAUSD’s Program Evaluation and Research Branch.
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Classroom qualityand programimplementation were closely investigated in this research.
THE STUDY
The Evaluators compared and contrasted three groups of Pre-K students:
• Those receiving Building Language for Literacy (BLL) instruction
• Those receiving Letter People (LP) instruction
• Those receiving no specific early literacy program
The following research questions were posed by the evaluation:
• What is the nature of Pre-K literacy instruction in classrooms
administered by the ECED?
• What is the difference in implementation between the two
pilot reading programs (Building Language for Literacy and
the Letter People)?
• What are the effects of the two Pre-K reading programs on
student achievement outcomes?
STUDY DESIGN:
The study employed a quasi-experimental design with random selection at
the classroom level. Data were obtained through classroom observations, and
a pretest and posttest administration of student achievement data to measure
growth over time. Data collection consisted of pre-and post-testing 348
children and the observation of program practices in 31 classrooms within
19 child-care centers.
SAMPLE:
The sample selection was stratified by geographic location, size, and school
population characteristics. Classrooms for the three early literacy program
groups were randomly selected for the study, such that ten classrooms within
each program (BLL, LP, and comparison) were investigated and ten children
were randomly selected from each chosen classroom for the study sample.
There were no significant differences between the three groups of teachers
with respect to number of children enrolled, teacher age, years teaching, years
teaching preschool, or number of courses taken in teaching reading and
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language. While the three groups of children were similar with respect to
gender, there were significant differences between the groups in age, ethnicity,
and language. Children in the LP group were slightly older on average at
pretest than their BLL and comparison peers. Only the BLL group had a
sizeable representation of Asian children. However, the percentages of Latino
children were approximately the same across the three groups. With respect to
language, the BLL classrooms were comprised of 39% native English-speaking
children, while the LP and comparison classrooms had 23% and 26% native
English-speaking children, respectively.
MEASURES: CLASSROOM QUALITY AND IMPLEMENTATION
Classroom quality and program implementation were closely investigated in this
research. The Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS) was used
to assess Pre-K program quality, including: personal-care routines of children,
furnishing and display for children, language and reasoning experiences, fine
and gross motor activities, creative activities, and social development. To assess
the prereading program implementation, a Classroom Observational Instrument
was developed for this study. The instrument measured the following areas of
preliteracy instruction: Oral Language, Listening/Phonological Awareness,
Alphabetic Knowledge, and Story Knowledge.
MEASURES: ACHIEVEMENT TESTS
Four standardized assessment tools were used to measure the achievement
outcomes of preschoolers in this study. All of the tests were administered
individually and were designed for use with young children. They included
the following:
• The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT-Third Edition) and
its Spanish equivalent (TVIP) to assess vocabulary acquisition and
language development
• The Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Achievement (WJIII)—The
Letter and Word Identification Subtest to assess letter and word
identification skills
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Spanish-speaking children receivingBLL instruction significantly outperformed Spanishspeakers in the LP and comparisongroups of children onthe WJIII.
THE RESULTS continued
• The McGraw-Hill Developing Skills Checklist (DSC) to assess general skills
and achievement including: concepts of print, letter recognition, language
skills, and letter-sound knowledge
RESULTS: CLASSROOM QUALITY AND IMPLEMENTATION
Children in the BLL and LP classrooms were more often observed learning
about the letters of the alphabet and also “writing” than their comparison group
counterparts. Significantly more vocabulary development occurred in the BLL
and comparison classrooms than in the LP classrooms. However, more grammar
development and initial sound emphasis occurred in the LP classrooms. In
addition, BLL teachers focused on rhyming activities to a much greater degree
than did their LP and comparison group counterparts—a preliteracy skill
that is strongly correlated to increased WJIII outcomes.
RESULTS: DISAGGREGATING BY LANGUAGE
An examination of the relationship between implementation and significant
achievement outcomes revealed a strong positive correlation between WJIII
gains and rhyming activities (r=.44). Rhyming games and activities expose
children to the sounds of language and are particularly effective for English-
language learners. The Spanish-speaking children in the BLL group, where
80% of teachers engaged children in rhyming activities, significantly
outperformed Spanish speakers in the LP and comparison classrooms
on the WJIII.
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Results: Achievement
After the Pre-K reading intervention, children in the BLL group made
significant adjusted gains on all assessment measures (See Table 1). In keeping
with the What Works ClearingHouse (WWC) standards, this research reported
accurately derived Effect Sizes (ES) to determine educationally significant
outcomes. The Effect Size conveys the magnitude of the difference between the
scores of BLL, LP, and comparison groups on achievement measures. The results of
this research reveal that children receiving BLL significantly outperformed their LP
peers on the PPVT (ES=.27). Children in the BLL group also
significantly outperformed the comparison group children on the PPVT (ES=.30).
In addition, children receiving the BLL program significantly
outperformed children in the Letter People group on the WJIII (ES=.35). The
BLL group also significantly outperformed comparison group children on the
WJIII (ES=.29). Spanish-speaking children receiving BLL instruction
significantly outperformed Spanish speakers in the LP and comparison groups
of children on the WJIII. However, it should be noted that children in the LP
group significantly outperformed their BLL peers on one of the four Developing
Skills Checklist subtests, the Language subtest (ES=.28). (See Graphs 1–3)
TABLE 1: Adjusted Gains by Prereading Program
ASSESSMENT GROUPS COMPARED EFFECT SIZE*
PPVT-III
WJII—LETTER WORDIDENTIFICATION
DSC—LANGUAGE
•BLL Significantly higher than LP group•BLL Significantly higher than the
comparison group
•BLL Significantly higher than LP group•BLL Significantly higher than the
comparison group
•LP Significantly higher than BLL group
0.27
0.30
0.350.29
0.28
*Effect Sizes greater than .20 standard deviations are cited as educationally significant.
BLL—Building Language for LiteracyLP—Letter PeopleComparison—Creative Curriculum
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GRAPH 1: Students in the BLL group made significantly greater gains than students in either the LP or Comparison group on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT).
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
37.8
45.8
37.4
48.5
PPVT-Pre
PPVT-Post
39.5
46.6
Creative Curriculum Building Language for Literacy Letter People
Early Reading Curriculum*BLL higher than LP (ES=.27); BLL higher than comparison group (ES=.30)
GRAPH 2: Students in the BLL group made significantly greater gains than students in either the LP or Comparison group on the Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Achievement (WJIII Letter-Word identification subtest).
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
6.9
8.67.9
10.1
WJIII-Pre
WJIII-Post
9.1
10.1
Creative Curriculum Building Language for Literacy Letter People
Early Reading Curriculum*BLL higher than LP (ES=.35); BLL higher than comparison group (ES=.29)
GRAPH 3: Students in the LP group made significantly greater gains than students in the BLL group on the Developing Skills Checklist-Language subtest (DSC-L).
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
13.6
16
DSC-L–Pre
DSC-L–Post
Creative Curriculum Building Language for Literacy Letter People
Early Reading Curriculum*LP higher than BLL (ES=.28)
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17
15.1
13.3
The graphs display the
raw scores at pre- and
post-testing for the
three assessments.
Performance results
reveal educationally
meaningful differences.
*
*
*
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Results reveal that students in the BLL group
significantly outperformed
children in theLetter People and
Comparison groupson vocabulary
acquisition, as wellas letter and word
identification skills,as evaluated by
the WJIII.
THE SUMMARY
SUMMARY:
These findings indicate that Building Language for Literacy was
successful in helping children who received the curriculum’s direct
instruction in preliteracy outperform children who received little or
no early literacy instruction. Results reveal that students in the BLL
group significantly outperformed children in the Letter People and
Comparison groups on vocabulary acquisition and language
development, as measured by the PPVT-III, as well as letter and word
identification skills, as evaluated by the WJIII. Findings further reveal
that children in the LP group outperformed children in the BLL group
on one subtest of the DSC—the Language subtest. Observational
records of classroom instruction imply that the activities embedded in
Building Language for Literacy, particularly those pertaining
to rhyming, helped children with either English or Spanish as their
primary language learn to recognize letters by name.
REFERENCES:
1. Carta, J.J., Schwartz, I.S., Atwater, J.B., & McConnell, S.R. (1991).
Developmentally Appropriate Practice: Appraising its Usefulness for
Young Children with Disabilities. Topics in Early Childhood Special
Education, 11, 1–20.
2. Early Reading First Program Draft Guidance. ( June, 2002). United
States Department of Education.
3. Lonigan, C.J., Burgess, S.R., Anthony, J.L., & Barker, T.A. (1998).
Development of Phonological Sensitivity in 2 to 5-year-old... children.
Journal of Educational Psychology, 90, 294–311.
For more information call1-800-SCHOLASTIC
(1-800-724-6527)
Research&Results
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ITEM #43259410M 07/03